The Tao of Fully Feeling: Harvesting Forgiveness Out of Blame - Softcover

Walker, Pete

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0964299607 ISBN 13: 9780964299603

Publisher: Azure Coyote Pub, 1995

Synopsis

This book is a guide to emotional health. The degree of an individual's mental health is often seen in the degree to which s/he can love and respect her/himself and others, in a myriad of different feeling states. Real self-esteem and real intimacy with others depends on the ability to lovingly be there for oneself and others, whether one's feeling experience is pleasant or unpleasant. Those who can only be there for themselves or another during the "good" times show no constancy, inspire little trust, and are only "fair weather friends" to themselves and others. Without access to our dysphoric feelings, we are deprived of the most fundamental part of our ability to notice when something is unfair, abusive, or neglectful. Those who cannot feel their sadness often do not know when they are being unfairly excluded, and those who cannot feel their normal angry or fearful responses to abuse, are often in danger of putting up with it without protest. Repressing our emotions creates anxiety and stress, and stress, like most of our emotions is often treated like some unwanted waste that must be removed. Until all of the emotions are accepted indiscriminately (and acceptance does not imply license to dump emotions irresponsibly or abusively), there can be no wholeness, no real sense of well being, and no solid sense of self esteem. Thus, while it may be fairly easy to like oneself when feelings of love, happiness or serenity are present, deeper psychological health is seen only in the individual who can maintain a posture of self-compassion and self-respect in the times of emotional hurt that accompany life's inevitable losses, disappointments and unforseen difficulties. This book also guides the reader to grieve through unresolved pain from a traumatic childhood. It further explores the differences between real forgiveness and forgiveness as denial and self-deception.

About this title

About the Author

Pete Walker, M.A., MFT, is a licensed Marriage and Family psychotherapist with degrees in Social Work and Counseling Psychology. He has been working as a counselor, lecturer, writer and group leader for thirty-five years, and as a trainer, supervisor and consultant of other therapists for 20 years. He holds certificates in supervision from The California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and from The Psychotherapy Institute in Berkeley. Pete Walker is a "general practitioner" who has a private practice in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. He specializes in helping adults who were traumatized in childhood, especially those whose repeated exposure to abuse and/or neglect left them with the symptoms of Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder [Cptsd]. His articles on a multimodal approach to treating Cptsd have been published in a number of professional psychotherapy periodicals. Pete’s first book, The Tao of Fully Feeling: Harvesting Forgiveness Out of Blame, has been acclaimed by many therapists and clients as a powerful, compassionate and pragmatic tool for guiding recovery. Alice Miller, author of The Drama of the Gifted Child, wrote: “Pete Walker wrote a book about his own recovery from emotional numbness. The author passionately explores as thoroughly as possible the role of emotions in human life. The result is not only a moving, honest recount but also an informative guide for people who want to become more aware of their buried feelings. Walker's well explained concept of 'reparenting' will help them go through this fascinating process in a safe, protected way." Pete’s new book, Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving is the logical extension and evolution of the work presented in his first book. It deeply explores the causes of Cptsd that range from severe neglect to monstrous abuse. Many survivors of traumatizing families grew up in houses that were not homes – in families that were as loveless as orphanages and sometimes as dangerous.

Edition details

• Publisher: Azure Coyote Pub
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0964299607
• ISBN 13: 9780964299603
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 265